Brownie’s Recipes for a New Generation
Retro Maine Cookout Recipes to Jumpstart Your Summer
By Sarah Walker Caron
For generations, Mildred Brown Schrumpf, better known to some as Brownie, entered Maine homes via the Bangor Daily News once a week with recipes, cooking advice, and micro-vignettes about her life. When I arrived in Maine in 2014, 20 years after her column ended, she was still spoken about in the present tense. That’s how powerful her influence was.
Brownie was a trusted source for all things food even before she became a food columnist. After graduating from the University of Maine in 1925 — the first in her family to get a college education — she went on to work for the Bangor Gas Company as a stove tester and later for 4-H clubs throughout the state doing demonstrations. She later joined the United States Department of Agriculture’s Cooperative Extension, again doing cooking demonstrations throughout the state.
By the time the Bangor Daily News hired Brownie to write a cooking column in 1951, her name was already well known in Maine communities. For more than four decades, Brownie taught generations how to cook, how to think about food, and how to enjoy it.
Her influence is undeniable.
For the past several years, I have been working on a book about Brownie’s life and impact on Maine kitchens. If you have a Brownie story, I would love to hear it. Feel free to email me at sarah@sarahcaron.com.
The following recipes are adapted from Brownie’s column. I’ve modernized the instructions for today’s kitchens and, in some cases, renovated the ingredients list to reflect how we cook today.
Amy Dow’s Pie Crust, Modernized
Yields 2 pie crusts
This wonderfully flaky pie crust is easy to make by hand, if you have the patience for it. The trick is to add only enough cold water for it to hold together. In the original recipe, Brownie used lard and didn’t specify the amount of cold water. I’ve changed the lard for butter, and found just the right amount of water for this. This is adapted from a recipe shared in Mildred Brown Schrumpf’s cooking column in the Bangor Daily News on Thursday, July 2, 1953.
Ingredients
- 3 cups sifted all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, cold (2 sticks or ½ lb)
- ½–3/4 cup cold water
Instructions
In a large mixing bowl, mix together the sifted flour and the salt. Cut the butter into 1-tablespoon slices and add to the bowl. Stir to coat the butter pieces with flour. Then use either 2 knives or a pastry cutter to cut the butter into the flour until the butter is in small pieces, no bigger than peas.
Add the cold water to the bowl 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing after each addition, until the dough just holds together when squeezed. You may not use all the water. Discard any excess.
Turn the dough out onto a floured board and with clean hands and knead the dough together to form a ball. Cut the ball into two even pieces. Working with one at a time, form a ball and then pat it out into a disc, about 6 inches in diameter. Place each onto a plastic wrap rectangle and wrap to seal. Chill for at least 2 hours before using.
Fresh strawberry pie
Yields 1 pie
Fresh strawberries make this pie so delightful. It’s juicy, sweet, and tastes of summertime. Bonus points if you pick the strawberries yourself or with friends and family (see page 52 for ideas). This is adapted from a recipe shared in Mildred Brown Schrumpf’s cooking column in the Bangor Daily News on Thursday, July 2, 1953.
Ingredients
- 4 cups strawberries, hulled and halved
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 pie crusts (1 recipe Amy Dow’s Pie Crust — see page 15)
Instructions
Heat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the halved strawberries with the sugar and flour. Stir well to combine and let sit while you prepare the crust.
Spray a pie plate with cooking oil spray.
Roll out one pie crust to about 12-inches round on a floured board. Transfer to the prepared pie plate and fit in, ensuring that the crust covers the bottom and sides of the pie plate.
Stir the berry mixture again, and then transfer to the prepared pie crust, taking the time to arrange it in an even layer. Use a rubber spatula to ensure all of the sugar-flour mixture makes it into the pie.
On the floured board, roll out the second pie crust to about 12-inches round. Transfer to the pie plate and press the edges to seal. Roll the edges under all the way around to create a rim. Note: if you have a lot of excess dough, you may want to trim the edges a bit before rolling.
Use a sharp knife to cut vents in the top of the pie; 5 vents is enough, but feel free to create a decorative pattern.
Place the pie plate on a baking sheet. This will catch any juices that boil over while cooking. Slide into the hot oven and bake for 50-60 minutes, or until golden brown and bubbly. Remove from the oven. Let the pie rest for at least 30 minutes before slicing and serving.
wilted lettuce salad with bacon vinaigrette
Serves 4
Warm lettuce? It might sound strange, but wilted lettuce is highly underrated. And with this easy salad recipe, it has a pleasant smoky-tart flavor. Serve this with whatever is coming off the grill. It’s delightful. This is adapted from a recipe by Mildred Brown Schrumpf published on Thursday, June 20, 1963 in her Bangor Daily News column.
Ingredients
- 1 head romaine lettuce
- 1 large shallot, halved and thinly sliced
- 3 slices thick cut bacon, cut into 1/2-inch slices
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
Cut the lettuce into bite-sized pieces and place in a medium serving bowl. Add the sliced shallots to the bowl as well.
In a medium skillet set over medium heat, brown the bacon pieces. Using a slotted spoon, remove the bacon from the skillet to a small bowl. Whisk in the red wine vinegar and salt for about 1 minute. Remove from heat and pour immediately over the lettuce and shallots. Toss well to combine. Sprinkle with bacon and toss again.
Serve immediately.
warm fingerling potatoes with lemon brown butter
Serves 4
These potatoes have a decidedly tart taste to them. It’s delightful with the creamy fingerling potatoes. If you’d like lemony potatoes that are less tart, use half the amount of lemon juice.
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs fingerling potatoes, steamed or boiled to tender
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh Italian parsley
- 1 scallion, thinly sliced
Instructions
Place the tender, cooked potatoes in a large mixing bowl. Set aside.
Melt the butter in a small skillet over medium heat until the butter begins to brown. Add the lemon juice and salt and whisk rapidly to combine for about 90 seconds. Note: this mixture will boil rapidly. Add the lemon zest and mix briefly. Remove from heat.
Pour the hot lemon butter mixture over the potatoes. Stir to combine. Let sit for 2 minutes and then combine again. Add the parsley and scallion and toss to combine.
Serve hot.
